Point Made

This article is a pretty fantastic description of my neighborhood, Yankee Hill. I might have pointed out the Villa Filomena, a former mansion, that is now used for many private activities such as weddings and small musical performances. Across the street from that beautiful piece of architecture is The Lakeside Apartments building. It's home to the writer, photographer, artist, and 2nd chair harmonica player with The Expansion Band, Poppa Jeff. 🙌 https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2022/09/23/milwaukee-walks-yankee-hill-was-height-of-early-milwaukee-society/ Speaking of Art: My most recent effort. A blatant ripoff of a pastel by Carl Rohde Curly. In Motion Oil 9 x 12 Meanwhile, as the official Fall Season is falling on us, and I am referring to the daily temperatures, I attended a parking lot potluck for Common Ground. We got a review of all of our projects that are being worked on. The latest and certainly one of the more non-controversial efforts we've taken is the volunteer tutoring...

 I know. Why does an agnostic invoke God? But then when you think about it, being an agnostic is sitting on the fence. I nonbeliever friend of mine ate only fish on Friday. She claims she did it just in case they were right. Back to the weather. Those of us living on the shores of The Inland Sea are experiencing the extension of a wonderful summer. Now, midway through September, our nighttime temps are in the high fifties, and our daytime temps range from the seventies to the eighties. This is all with low humidity and only seasonal rainfall. I put away my straw hats and Hawaiian shirts only because it's after labor day. There's no doubt, the mere fact that I wrote about this the shorter days and cold north winds will force us to close our windows and begin the traditional hibernation ritual. Sorry! The Punderfull Life Sports The Endless Money Pit. Quite by accident today, I discovered there is an American Football League in Europe. Another article accelerated and enhanced this...

 I thought this until my friend Bill Sell passed away on September 1, 2022. The bad news is that Bill is gone from so many of us that counted on him for periodic grounding in these times of political and social chaos. Yet, his principles and beliefs never overshadowed his empathy and concern for others. His conduct made him the absolute definition of a gentle man. ( Yes, I know the need not be a space between those words, but somehow it means more if there is one.) The good news is his memorial gathering, held in his home in Bayview, brought people from near and far together. It surprised me how many of those people were friends I hadn't seen for long periods. But, COVID notwithstanding, it was almost embarrassing. I only hope the promises of keeping in touch come true. I wrote to his friend Virginia Smalls that his loss made me, an agnostic, think that maybe the concept of heaven, where we all get to be together again, wouldn't be a bad idea. My Latest Painting Afghan Woman Tw...

This is the "Just Happy To Be Here" band. The lead guitar player, Rob Burkham, formed this group after I moved to Milwaukee. These musicians are also members of The Expansion Band. So named, the Expansion Band is an informal gathering of people who love to play music together. They gather one night a week, rotating from one house to another. Sometimes there are only a few. On other nights there can be a dozen or more. There's little doubt that competence is not a consideration for membership, seeing I was accepted with my limited skill with a harmonica. But everyone gets to choose a number they want the group to play.  I am not a huge belonger. I was a member of The Royal Order Of Toads (ROT). But that group was anti-belonging. Rot was a shelter for people who couldn't get membership in any other club or didn't want to belong to a group. The Expansion Band is a fun-loving group of guys who know that music brings people together and allows them to express themselve...

Hang On, Snoopy, Hang On  Staying In touch In a recent phone conversation with my son, he gently, firmly, lovingly, and rightfully admonished me for not keeping in touch with him and his sons. I'm aware of this oversight, and it's not for lack of wanting to keep up with them. On the contrary, I love them and their cousins unconditionally.  Anything I say about my deficiencies will sound like a yes-but-excuse, so I will refrain from trying to justify my shortcomings and just promise all of them to be better. If the phone is ringing or your message alarm is sounding, it's probably me. Watching GOT (The making of Cersei, the biggest bitch of all time.) Honesty, she makes Lisbeth Salander look like a girl scout. Good fortune has forced me to watch the last few episodes of The Game Of Thrones. It is difficult to see the end of the series I truly love.   The series shows Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, This Is Us,  and Younger come to mind.  The reason I'm finishing...

 I'm not a weatherperson, one of the few professions that allows you to be wrong often and not lose your job. But I've noticed something I think is interesting. We are experiencing one of the milder, more comfortable summers I remember. Who am I referring to when I say we? I thinking of Southeastern Wisconsin with Milwaukee as my center of reference. Not only have we had fewer days of extreme heat, but we don't have any extended periods of high heat indexes (90's) and high humidity (65+ dew points). Often those uncomfortable days are sandwiched in between very pleasant ones. We have periodic rain storms that might challenge our storm sewer capacity and cause high water levels in the streams and rivers. If there is a problem with rain, it tends to fall on weekends. Surprise!  I reached a publishing milestone this week. Last year I published my novel, 26 Women . My lack of promotion tempers my hope of hitting the NYT bestseller list or even long listing in one of the pre...

  The inspiration for my current painting. This is my great-granddaughter, Jonny Bird Sieve. I love the innocence and wonder this image presents. A Shallow Dive Into The Twelve-Step -Step Program I often joke about starting a twelve-step program for silly things. For example, during the Annual All Saints Used Book Sale to battle hunger, as we sorted and priced the donated books, I would joke with fellow volunteers that I would start a twelve-step program for people who continuously bought books they would never read. The twelve steps is a reference to the Alcoholics Anonymous program or AA. Many people might be tentative in their levity because they know I'm an alcoholic. Truth be known, I did not avail myself of AA in my battle against the bottle. However, I don't deny AA's worth and I advise people to try it f they feel it will help them in their effort.  If you look at the program and how it works, it can and is used as a template to deal with any addiction. The label ad...